Lucia A Simpson 1875 by cdrusn89 - AJ Fisher - 1/64

[cdrusn89]

I have searched through the site and find no mention of the Simpson or A. J. Fisher so I suppose this is the first build log for this ship.

 

In case you were wondering the Simpson is a three masted Great Lakes schooner. She was one of over 1700 such vessels that plied the Great Lakes carrying general cargo in the last half of the 19th century.

 

My interest in Great Lakes schooners (aside from spending most of the first 20 years living very near Lake Michigan) was kindled by seeing the Denis Sullivan a replica of a Great Lakes schooner that I saw at the Tall Ships Erie in 2019. After I returned home from Erie (after a visit to Bluejackets and the Maine Maritime Museum at Bath) I started looking for a way to model the Denis Sullivan. Even though the Sullivan was built in the 1990s I could find no real info that would permit building a replica. I settled for the Bluejackets Fannie Gorham, a 3-masted, centerboard schooner.

 

I "stumbled on to" the Simpson after seeing an add in the NRG for A.J. Fisher solid hull models and found there were actually two models of  Great Lakes schooners available from them. I picked the Simpson because it was the larger scale (1/64 vs 1/96) and the larger vessel with three masts (the other was a two-master).

 

I ordered the kit by mailing an order form on 3/21 and received the kit today (3/28).

 

Being a solid hull model the kit contents are dominated by the solid hull.

The two circular items are plastic "jars" with all of the "fittings, rigging thread and paper flags.

A parts list is included along with a 52 page instruction manual.

In addition to the hull there are two pieces of engraved decking, a selection of dowels for the masts/booms/gaffs, a display stand (which is warped) and two packages of "strip wood".

 

There also three sheets of plans - one for rigging.

The plans were rolled up in the box so I will have to "hang them out to dry" to try and get them more or less flat.

 

One sheet with more details on the hull, spars and fittings.

And finally one with a belaying plan, details of mast rigging and hull templates.

So now that it is here I better start reading the instruction manual.

 

Edited Sunday at 02:46 AM by cdrusn89
corrected log title

[JacquesCousteau]

I'm looking forward to following along! I've often been curious about how AJ Fisher kits compare to similar ones--Bluejacket seems like the closest comparison. And a Great Lakes schooner is an excellent subject. How do the fittings look? The plans look great, very detailed. Too bad that the display base is warped, though.

[ccoyle]

2 hours ago, cdrusn89 said:

I have searched through the site and find no mention of the Simpson or A. J. Fisher

 

Yep, this has always surprised me a bit, since the AJ Fisher company has been around for a very long time -- obviously, somebody has been building their kits! I'm really looking forward to seeing how this one comes together. Curious about the scale, though -- you said 1/72 scale, but the plans and parts listing both say 3/16", which is 1/64.

 

BTW, here's a photo of the Lucia A Simpson at the Lake Superior Marine Museum to inspire you. She's a lovely vessel.

 

[cdrusn89]

 

 

I was not very good at math - indeed the kit is 1/64th scale which will make it easier to substitute a Vanguard 3D printed life boat instead of making one starting with a rectangular block of wood as the instructions suggest.

 

Although I did not specifically point it out the kit contains ZERO laser cut pieces (except for the laser engraved deck planking sheets).

 

Quite a contrast to the Vanguard HMS Sphinx which I just finished which (except for the hull planking) had ZERO strip wood pieces.

 

I guess I will be doing it "the old fashioned way" to quote an old commercial from Smith Barney (I think).

Edited Saturday at 12:42 PM by cdrusn89

[ccoyle]

1 hour ago, cdrusn89 said:

I guess I will be doing it "the old fashioned way" to quote an old commercial from Smith Barney (I think).

 

Yep, you are going to have to "earn it!" (also from the old Smith-Barney ads).

[cdrusn89]

Given that the kit included a "bag of pieces' I thought it prudent to see if all the pieces listed on the parts list were included. I concentrated on the bag with pieces 6" or shorter. I have plenty of basswood pieces if one or more of the 24" pieces is missing or (heaven forbid) gets damaged during construction.

 

Since I would have to "mark them off the list" I thought it a good idea to identify them for ease later on.

and indeed everything is accounted for.

 

On to the preformed hull.

 

The instructions say to sand the entire hull exterior with medium then fine grade sandpaper paying attention to the rudder skeg and stem to reduce them to 3/16" to match the keel dimensions. That was not too difficult as there were only a few "blips" where the machine left a dimple that had to be sanded out.  In my dream last night I actually thought about actually planking the hull. It would be an interesting activity as the curve at the bilge is much sharper than anything I have attempted before. I will have to think about that some more.

 

Now to the inside of the hull. Although the instruction say that the bulwarks are 3/16" thick I found them to be a bit thicker - more like 1/4". The instructions offer two options - 1) sand the bulwarks down to 1/16" thick and then cut a 1/16" slot from one end to the other for the scuppers. Wow - that sounds like a lot of work and I doubt I could make a thin slot like that look acceptable. 2) Draw a line 1/16" above the deck and remove the bulwarks down to that line (after sanding them to 1/16' thickness), cut a rabbet in the hull just outside the focsle and poop and install a new 1/16" thick bulwark leaving a 1/16" slot above the remaining 1/16" bulwark for the scuppers.

 

I thought it would be easier (for me) to cut the bulwark down (no sanding required) all the way to the existing deck level and the add a 1/16" X 1/16" strip to form the outer edge of the decking (which I also considering doing the "old fashioned way"). It adds another "joint" on the hull but I doubt I could leave a consistent 1/16" "lip" while removing everything above.

 

Here is the hull with one half of one side bulwark removed.

 

One side completely removed.

And with the "filler strip" added.

On to the other side with a bit less trepidation.

 

[cdrusn89]

The drawing shows how large to make the rabbet for the bulwark so I made all four.

 

Here is one - I might add that basswood is not very good at holding a sharp edge.

 

 

There appears to be some confusion (at least I am confused) about how large the bulwark should be and when it is installed. By my measurement it should be 7/16" but the drawing shows 9/16. That is the total height of the bulwark on the original hull but now there is a 1/16" piece on the hull which will be deck level and a 1/16" gap for the scupper slot soooo. I appears that the inner bulwark (that is what the instructions call this but as far as I can tell it is the only bulwark) cannot be installed until the timberheads are there to give it the proper shape and those come after the decking is installed.

 

At this point I am ready to put the sanding sealer on the hull and see what "issues" remain before installing the keel, stem and stern post which are the next steps in the instructions.

[cdrusn89]

While waiting for glue to dry I studied the drawing (besides two sheets mostly dealing with rigging there is really only one sheet) to see what "things" were going to be needed that at least so far I have not found on the parts list or included with the parts.

 

First item are turnbuckles - 8 required (four for jib boom stays, 2 for bowsprit stays and two for martingales). no mention in parts list or included.

 

Second item - hatch coamings - there are four cargo hatches but all that is included are four 3/16" thick rectangles of various dimensions.  Here are two of them on the drawing. Not much to go on and the instructions are almost silent on the subject  "Glue the hatch covers on the hatch bases, seal and paint." No hatch covers are included or identified in the parts list.

 

Third item - mast caps, 3 required. There is a drawing of one mast cap on the drawing but none supplied and no material identified to fab them on the parts list. And the drawing shows a mast cap with two round openings but what is needed has a square and round opening. I ordered an assortment of mast caps from Bluejackets as trying to fab them seems in the "too hard" pile since they appear to be readily available and I am generally lazy.

 

I am beginning to get the idea that these kits have been sitting around for awhile - it got here (MA to FL) in 5 days so it must have been "on the shelf" or whoever is minding the store does not have much to do and all (or at least most) of the parts are "on the shelf".